Welcome to Week #15 of the Bird Weekly Photo Challenge. Week #15 challenge is Birds with Green Feathers.

Upcoming challenges can be found on my Bird Weekly Challenge Page.

The feature image is a photo of our Peach-faced Lovebird, Tweety. He led a very free life for a pet bird in captivity. He had a 6 ft. high perch inside the house that Frank made out of dead tree branches and driftwood. The only time he was in his cage was at night for bedtime or if we weren’t at home. That freedom eventually got him caught by a Red-shouldered Hawk. It was devastating at the time but we have the photos and memories of the time we had him.

This week is a small offering of birds with green feathers. As I stated in the round-up, I had some computer problems yesterday. Hope you enjoy what I’ve got and can’t wait to see what you have for everyone to see!

Northern Shoveler

It’s interesting to see the Northern Shoveler in breeding plumage in Florida because they don’t breed here. It’s a real treat because their colors are quite spectacular. They have a large unmistakeable bill that is about 2.5 inches long and shaped like a shovel. Their bill acts like a colander in that there are about 110 fine projections called lamellae along the edges that filter out crustaceans, seeds and aquatic invertebrates from the water. Northern Shovelers are monogamous and stay together longer than any other pairs of most dabbling ducks.

Nanday Parakeets

I know, I keep putting in the Nanday Parakeets, but I found this old photo from 2009 when I first saw them and I wasn’t logging my birds. Really, this was a life bird at that time, but I couldn’t count them officially until I saw them again this year. This photo was taken near Treasure Island in St. Petersburg as they were perched on top of an electrical pole. Maybe they liked the humming!

Anna’s Hummingbird

Speaking of humming….Anna’s Hummingbird has really expanded its range in the past century. Early in the 20th century, this species only bred in Baja California and southern California. The planting of exotic flowering trees provided nectar and nesting sites which allowed for this little bird to expand its breeding range. For this reason, no wonder we saw so many of them in the Las Vegas area.

Lorikeet

This is a Rainbow Lorikeet which is a species of parrot found in Australia. I would think that one of our bloggers will share these in their post this week as we did see them last week. I’ve only ever seen them in the zoo. This one was hanging out in the large aviary at the Jacksonville Zoo. Its habitat in the wild is rainforest, coastal bush and woodland areas. They feed on fruit, pollen and nectar.

Often times, we are able to buy a cup of nectar and they swarm upon us fighting to get to that sweetness we have in our hands. I was young back then!

Green-winged Teal

The photo was taken at the Jacksonville Zoo a few years ago, but we see these migratory ducks in the winter time in the wild. My other photos are on a drive that isn’t working, hence my tardiness. This is an adult male preening himself. These ducks, like many others, feed on vegetation by tipping up in shallow water or picking at food while standing in puddles, flooded fields and other wetlands. Many times, all you will see is butts in the air!

Peach-faced Lovebird

Our feature image this week. Tweety was a beautiful Peach-faced lovebird that imprinted on Frank. He tolerated me and hated when I gave Frank affection. Talk about a jealous bird!!! He was potty trained and would poop on command because he loved being on Frank’s shoulder.

Until next week…Week #16 – Birds with Short Legs